First change: 14.11.2022 – 17:03
The largest economies are trying to prevent a crisis from another pandemic, which is why they have launched a fund involving foundations and more than 20 countries.
The group of the world’s 20 richest countries raised $1,400 million for a global fund to prevent future pandemics like the one with Covid-19, which has killed more than 6.6 million and crippled the global economy.
According to Bloomberg, the World Bank will manage the fund to help low- and middle-income countries so they can prevent and manage future pandemics, with commitment from more than 20 donor countries, the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation and Rockefeller Foundation, among others.
“The amount accumulated so far is only the initial amount,” said Sri Mulyani Indrawati, finance minister of Indonesia, the host country and head of the G-20 summit. “The estimated need is up to $31,000 million, but this will not be the only tool to prepare the health system,” he added.
Since last year, the G-20 under Italy’s presidency has started setting up the fund as countries struggled to raise enough money to fight the pandemic, with a deficit of up to $16,000 million, according to the World Health Organization.
Three years after the emergence of Covid-19, Indonesia, Southeast Asia’s largest economy, is pushing for equal access to global health infrastructure, one of its priorities at G20 meetings. This includes getting countries to harmonize health protocols and redistributing research and manufacturing capacity for medical products.
Indonesian President Joko Widodo stated that 24 countries participate in this fund and its goal is to “prevent and prepare for a pandemic”. “But that’s not enough,” Widodo said, warning that at least $31 billion would be needed.
“We must ensure that the community can withstand a pandemic. A pandemic cannot take lives and fracture the joints of the global economy,” he added.
The launch was led by G20 health and finance ministers and was attended by WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus and World Bank President David Malpass.
With Bloomberg and AFP